Yahoo News Sue Johanson, beloved Canadian sex educator and Sunday Night Sex Show host, dies at 93
Sue Johanson, the beloved Canadian sex educator who shared unabashedly honest sex advice on programs like Sunday Night Sex Show and Talk Sex With Sue Johanson, has died. She was 93.
Lisa Rideout, who directed and produced Sex with Sue, a 2022 documentary about Johanson, confirmed the host's death in a social media tribute on Thursday. In it, she called Johanson "an incredible, unstoppable force" and commended how she "paved the way for how we talk about sex and sexuality today."
Johanson reportedly died surrounded by family in a long-term care facility in Thornhill, Ontario, a representative told the CBC. A cause of death was not revealed.
Kevin Winter/Tonight Show/Getty Images Sue Johanson
Born in Toronto in 1930, Johanson initially began her career as a nurse before going on to open one of the first birth control clinics in Canada at her daughters' high school in 1970. She would continue to run the clinic over the next 18 years.
Johanson rose to popularity when she began hosting her own radio program, titled Sunday Night Sex Show, in 1984. Aiming to answer any questions that weren't covered in health class, listeners were encouraged to call in and receive advice from Johanson about all manner of sex-related questions, ranging from how to use sex toys to discussions about societal taboos surrounding sex.
Her non-judgmental approach to each question — along with her signature wit and charm — quickly awarded Johanson a devoted fanbase. Sunday Night Sex Show later became a successful television program, which aired across Canada from 1996 until 2005, and led to its own successful U.S. spin-off, titled Talk Sex With Sue Johanson, which ran on Oxygen from 2002 until 2008.
In addition to serving as a television host, Johanson was also the author of three books: 1989's Talk Sex: Answers to Questions You Can't Ask Your Parents, 1991's Sex Is Perfectly Natural but Not Naturally Perfect, and 1995's Sex, Sex, and More Sex.
She was awarded the Order of Canada, the country's highest lifetime achievement honor, in 2001. She also starred as Dr. Sally, a sex educator based on herself, in several episodes of Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi: The Next Generation.
Speaking with the New York Times in 2004, Johanson said that she aimed to encourage people to "always practice safer sex." She added, "I regard sex as a gift from God. We're the only ones that really are able to enjoy sex, so we have an obligation to learn about it and enjoy it."
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